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Police offer tips for driving when the power is out

With the recent power outages that left countless traffic signals non-operations, Irwindale Police Chief Dennis Smith wants to remind people to use caution when driving while the power is out.

Blacked-out intersections should be treated as four-way stops, officials said, however drivers should never presume that other motorists will properly yield the right of way. He said even if its your turn, another driver might not realize it.

“You can be right and still be dead,” Smith said.

Smith said many people are unaware that an intersection should be treated as a four-way stop when the signal is out and encouraged drivers to review the California Vehicle Code:

CALIFORNIA VEHICLE CODE

21800 (d) (1) The driver of any vehicle approaching an intersection which has official traffic control signals that are inoperative shall stop at the intersection, and may proceed with caution when it is safe to do so.

2) When two vehicles enter an intersection from different highways at the same time, and the official traffic control signals for the intersection are inoperative, the driver of the vehicle on the left shall yield the right-of-way to the vehicle on his or her immediate right, except that the driver of any vehicle on a terminating highway shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicle on the intersecting continuing highway.

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